UN credibility at risk over war crimes, says Horta By Mark Dodd, Herald
Correspondent in Dili

East Timor could still press for a United Nations war crimes tribunal
unless Indonesia brought to justice those responsible for the political
violence in 1999, the independence leader and Nobel laureate Mr Jose Ramos
Horta said yesterday.

The UN Security Council's credibility would be at risk if it did not
back a war crimes tribunal in the face of Jakarta's failure to prosecute
named individuals, he said.

"If Indonesia fails to deliver justice then I don't see how the
Security Council can get away from creating a war crimes tribunal for East
Timor.

"I am confident a war crimes tribunal remains a strong option.''

Mr Horta is the cabinet member for foreign affairs in the UN-chaired
East Timor Transitional Administration.

Two Indonesian diplomats based in Dili attended his briefing and took
notes.

The August 30, 1999, vote for independence from Indonesia triggered
widespread violence by pro-Indonesian militias in which up to 1,500 people
were killed.

Under pressure from the international community, Indonesia promised to
bring those responsible to justice, but it has failed to deliver and has
rejected requests by a serious crimes unit in Dili to hand over indicted
war criminals to UN authorities.

Diplomats doubt any senior Indonesian officials will be handed over, or
that militia leaders, such as Eurico Guterres, regarded by most East
Timorese as a murderer but by many Indonesians as a nationalist hero, will
be brought to justice.

Mr Horta praised the efforts of Indonesia's Attorney-General, Mr
Marzuki Darusman, to bring to trial those responsible for the violence,
and said he hoped Indonesia and East Timor would normalise relations as
soon as possible.

Australia's Defence Minister, Mr Reith, arrived in East Timor yesterday
for his first visit to the shattered territory. He met Mr Xanana Gusmao
and the UN administration chief, Mr Sergio Vieira de Mello.

He would not say how long Australian troops would be based in East
Timor.

"I think the Australians, from all reports, are doing a very good
job. Obviously we are monitoring what is happening here. They're here for
the moment, and they'll be here for a little while yet."

Note: For those who would like to fax "the
powers that be" - CallCenter is a Native 32-bit Voice Telephony software
application integrated with fax and data communications... and it's free of charge!
Download from http://www.v3inc.com/